Revenge of the Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		1.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

Revenge of the Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 4, 2023

Always on the hunt for a trend to exploit, Hollywood producers found unusual inspiration in the ways of high school antics involving cheerleaders and their never-ending battle with lust, love, and rivals. 1973’s “The Cheerleaders” made some money, and that’s all the industry needs to chase moviegoing habits, with 1974’s “The Swinging Cheerleaders” also providing hearty drive-in entertainment and sizable profit, keeping the brand name going. 1976’s “Revenge of the Cheerleaders” is yet another attempt to capture viewer imagination with a fresh presentation of excitable girls, dim- witted boys, and a school staff trying to maintain some sense of order with oversexed teenagers. Director Richard Lerner doesn’t have a major creative challenge on his hands with the project, mostly employed to contain the inherent chaos of the shoot. “Revenge of the Cheerleaders” is pure zaniness, eschewing the shaping of a story to deal mostly with mischief and non sequitur scenes, also paying close attention to the needs of audiences who’ve come to watch characters disrobe and enjoy tomfoolery. It’s tough to say if this even qualifies as an actual film, but Lerner’s permissiveness with it all does have a certain period charm, with the picture happy to go anywhere it pleases.

Aloha High School is in a state of disarray, with Principal Ivory (Carl Ballentine) leaving his position after trying to cook a turkey in his office, starting a fire. The students are out of control, but maintaining school spirit are the cheerleaders, with Gail (Jerii Woods), Leslie (Helen Lang), Heather (Cheryl Smith), Sesame (Patrice Rohmer), and Tishi (Susie Elene) managing to keep classmates energized with their routines and presence on school grounds. The teens hope to bring spirit to the basketball team, but they also live to satisfy their own desires, spending time chasing boys and organizing shenanigans, making life miserable for the staff, including office assistant Watson (Regina Gleason) and Nurse Beam (Eddra Gale). Looking to take advantage of this lack of leadership is land developer Walter (William Bramley), who wants to turn Aloha High into a mall, pushing for the demolition of the school, sending the students to finish out the year at Lincoln Vocational. The cheerleaders aren’t taking the news lying down, working to find a way to save the building while encountering Walter’s devious takeover plans, with the man using his daughter, Joanne (Carrie Dietrich), a student at Aloha High, to monitor the situation, which soon devolves into a war between kids and adults.

“Revenge of the Cheerleaders” isn’t one to wait around when it comes to delivering sexploitation, with the main characters disrobing in the first 30 seconds of the movie. It’s a sort of nudity speed record that helps to define exactly what this endeavor is, with Lerner forgoing the basics in personality introduction (only a few character names are even uttered during the run time), hitting the ground running with the girls and their fondness for changing clothes while riding in a convertible. It’s definitely an opener for the feature, which soon settles into life at Aloha High, where the students have very little interest in education, and the local paper loves to cover happenings in the building, with a “morality crisis” soon declared, leading to the future merger with Lincoln Vocational.

The teens want to go crazy and have sex with one another. The staff is a collection of weirdos, with Principal Ivory soon pushed out of his leadership position, creating lawlessness on the campus. “Revenge of the Cheerleaders” has the faint shape of a story with the arrival of Walter and his nefarious plans to force Aloha High to close, making room for a mall and some major NIMBY attitude from the old guard in town, who congregate at a local golf course to organize future financial glory. Lerner doesn’t follow the crisis closely, often going off on tangents to help fill the run time, including sexual situations, including Tishi’s craving for Jordan (David Robinson), an employee at the local teen hangout, Lilly Downs. Tishi is ready to devour Jordan, who’s also visited by Watson, and she would like a piece of the young man as well. Things do become a little softcore porn-y in “Revenge of the Cheerleaders,” but Lerner pulls back when necessary, also committed to the wackiness of the production, which tries to put on a grand old time with its collision of characters. Nothing says “what are we doing here?” than a mid-movie sequence where the cheerleaders spike a pot of spaghetti sauce with all kinds of drugs, looking to turn a visit by state inspectors into a free-for-all event involving a food fight and a group shower with overflowing suds. It’s gross and pointless, but that’s the general idea of the feature.

More asides come in “Revenge of the Cheerleaders,” with dance numbers common throughout the movie, finding the characters catching boogie fever in a restaurant, at school, and on the basketball court. There’s choreography here, which is surprising, and Lerner seems to be scratching some musical theater itches with the sequences. What they have to do with anything in the film is open for debate.

Revenge of the Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

"Revenge of the Cheerleaders" was originally released in 2014 by Code Red. Shout Factory brings the movie back to Blu-ray, but they don't have access to a fresh scan of the feature. The AVC encoded image (1.67:1 aspect ratio) presentation is in rough shape, with damaged and missing frames and scratches. Wear and tear is on display throughout the viewing experience. Fine detail isn't present, with softness dominating, limiting even a basic understanding of character appearances. Room dimension and exteriors also lack depth. Color has some fade, with a simple appreciation of primaries on clothing, and greenery with property high jinks. Grain is chunky.

Revenge of the Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix is also aged, with a muddier sense of engagement. Dialogue exchanges are limited at best, though intelligibility isn't threatened. Music isn't sharply defined, supporting with cloudier instrumentation and emphasis.

Revenge of the Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Richard Lerner and co-writer/cinematographer Nathaniel Dorsky.

• Radio Spot (:33) is offered.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (3:31, SD) is included.

Revenge of the Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Revenge of the Cheerleaders" is perhaps best known as the screen debut for David Hasselhoff, here portraying the character Boner, who's something of a basketball star and general lothario (when knocked unconscious, he's revived by the smell of soiled panties). Sure, it's something to see the future Michael Knight in action, but more compelling is a general escalation of physical activity in the final act, where deceptions mount and the chase is on, taking the cheerleaders into a dinosaur park, around caves, through a mall, and across a golf course. It's "Laugh-In" and a silent comedy mixed with R- rated visuals, creating a zany energy that's hard to deny. It's also crazy to see how the villains of the story resort to domestic terrorism to solve their problems. It doesn't get more 1970s than that. "Revenge of the Cheerleaders" is basically saved by its insanity, as there's no drama to follow and the players in this game are generic, save for Nurse Beam and her specific disruptor arc. It's amusing to watch but hard to recommend, as one must be in the right mind and maintain a level of permission with the filmmaking, which is largely holding on for dear life.